A mysterious sea serpent has been spotted in Okanagan Lake. This serpentine monster-like creature or Ogopogo as referred to by the locals is Canada’s most famous lake monster.

This unknown creature which can only be described as a sea serpent as big as a school bus has been seen lurking in the waters of Okanagan Lake In British Columbia for centuries.

Archival records of Ogopogo exist as far back as 1872 with the monster predating the infamous Loch Ness Monster’s media debut by a full 7 years.

Ogopogo sightings and descriptions are all very similar. Witnesses describe a long slender creature about 2 feet in diameter with multiple humps. Almost serpentine, like a snake slithering across the waters surface with a horse or goat like head rising above the waves.

Canada’s indigenous first nations populations have known of the creatures existence since the 19th century and have so aptly named the monster “Lake Demon.”

The most famous sighting of Ogopogo was in 1926 at Okanagan Mission Beach because of the sheer volume of witnesses. Over 30 car loads of people all described seeing the same thing.

Even more intriguing, in 1914 a group of Nicola Valley Indians discovered the decomposing body of an unidentified creature. The cryptid creature was blue grey, had a tail and flippers and weighed over 400 pounds. Some theorized that it was a manatee, but no one could explain how a manatee got into the lake

Like Nessie, some believe Ogopogo is an extinct Plesiosaur left over from the cretaceous period. Cryptozoologist Karl Shuker believes Ogopogo is simply a relative of a primitive serpentine whale like Basilosaurus.

Sightings including photographic and video evidence continue to pour in to this day.

What do you think Ogopogo is?

About Craig WoolheaterCo-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.

Well, good question! What I think it is, is primarily based on the evidence that I have seen to date. Rule out out obvious fakes, hoaxes and intentional digital manipulation, that leaves us with some evidence. I would say the vast majority of evidence I have seen falls into this category.

We can further shave down that evidence by applying the scientific method and deduce what it could not be. I doubt a reptile, even one that hibernates could survive the cold of winter in that geographic location. We can eliminate other possibilities by deduction. Through process of deduction, this eliminates even more of the evidence.

Then we must further consider mistaken identities of natural phenomenon such as waves, discarded tires, logs, or waste. This applies to most of the photos and videos I have seen. Which now leaves us with just a handful of videos for evidential evaluation.

Of these, some are misidentified living creatures such as schools of fish, sturgeon, otters, etc.

Ruling out this evidence only leaves us with a couple of questionable photos and video. The problem in identifying what creature or creatures are seen in these videos is that most of the creature(s) are submerged. So we do not get a total picture of what Ogopogo is or is not. This is called inconclusibe evidence.

So I can not say what Ogopogo is or is not. My theory is based on evidence I have seen. And from what I have seen, Ogopogo is a misidentification of a known species of animal.

Isn’t the human imagination remarkable? I am not saying Ogopogo is not a yet unidentified creature. There is just not enough credible evidence to make a declaration like that!

Aside from the Folden Film which is interesting but inconclusive, there isn’t very much real tangible evidence for the Ogopogo…as much as I would sincerely like there to be. I’ve been waiting over 50+ years for this one too. Well, those who wait also serve as the saying goes, I suppose

One of those films looks to me like a string of floating rubber tires. They apparently had trouble keeping them all vertical. And the ones where the humps are sticking up high above the water just don’t look natural to me. The real snakes I’ve seen undulate sideways. They don’t move up and down like the hammers on a piano. Keep in mind that photo manipulation didn’t begin with PhotoShop. It’s been around for over a century.